Lorene Elizabeth "Betty" Todd passed away peacefully on May 15, 2021. She was 93.

The daughter of Frank Kyle Jones and Belle Marie Broulette, Lorene was born in Yakima, Washington at five minutes before midnight on December 31, 1927. She was named for her mother's mother Lorene Barnes Broulette and her father's mother Elizabeth M. "Bessie" Jones. Her parents met while performing in the vaudeville circuit where each played the piano. Marie was a classically trained pianist and Frank was a self-taught jazz musician who said he preferred to play "the black keys". Lorene was a combination of the best of both her parents' talents and began playing at an early age. At her mother's insistence that she have some formal training, Lorene took one piano lesson at age twelve. She recalled the teacher nervously bit her nails throughout the lesson after which she went home and told her parents that she would prefer to learn on her own. Most of the people outside of her family who knew Lorene met her because of her tremendous talent as a pianist, choral arranger, singer and accompanist.

Lorene was an only child. She and her parents moved from Yakima to Seattle where Frank worked as a mechanic and later electronics technician and he and Marie ran a boarding house near the University District while continuing to play for the theatre for several years. Lorene attended William Cullen Bryant School in North Seattle from 1938-1940 and then nearby Roosevelt High School from 1940-1942. Her self-described "dismal" grades in Math led her parents to send her to live with a family friend for tutoring on Orcas Island from which she graduated high school in 1945 at the age of 17. Lorene was accepted to the Whitman Conservatory of Music at Whitman College, but instead attended the University of Washington briefly before marrying Kenneth Moore of Seattle. She and Ken had two children, Ellen Maureen and Michael Ross. After Lorene and Ken divorced, she returned to Orcas Island and met and married Robert B. Todd. She and Bob had two children, Robert Beryl "Skip" and Julienne Marie.

While on Orcas, Lorene, who was known as Betty to her family and friends, held a wide variety of jobs while Bob logged, fished, and worked in the quarry. She and Bob initially had a small farm. A small log cabin that was on the farm property is part of the Orcas Museum in Eastsound. They also managed Crescent Beach Resort, a series of cabins owned by the Burchardt family and Lorene ran the nearby laundromat. Lorene was an excellent cook. She went to work at Rosario Resort where she became the sous chef and banquet chef under head Chef Red Skinner. She later became the head chef at the Deer Harbor Inn and also did domestic work for several families. While on Orcas, Lorene played for services at the St. Paul's Episcopal Church and was active with a group she helped to form, the Orcas SIngers, performing concerts and costumed musical revues. Lorene also served as an accompanist and arranger for the Orcas School District and for Margaret Porter's Dance class recitals and was known to play both piano bar and the pipe organ at the Moran Mansion.

In 1970, Lorene left Orcas to return to Seattle to explore more work opportunities. She found the city too boisterous after the calm of Orcas and in 1972 she and Julie moved to Anacortes. Lorene's talents on the piano were soon put to use playing for choir classes at the Junior High School, for the Nazarene Church and most notably, for the Anacortes Community Theatre for which she was recognized with several awards, including the Vice-President's Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Theatre. Lorene also played for the Riverbelle Dinner Theatre in Mount Vernon. She was highly revered by both Singers and Directors. An actor once began his A Capella song introduction in a completely wrong key. Lorene didn't miss a beat and adjusted to match the key he was singing in, so as not to bring attention to the mistake. A gifted musician, she could play any song she had heard or that you could name or hum a few bars of, without any sheet music. Although she could truly play anything, her favorite musical genre was jazz.  She instilled a love of music in all four of her children.

In 1978 Lorene went to work for the State of Washington via the Anacortes Head Start program.  She could speak Spanish and was put to work meeting with migrant families with young children, some of which had never had the benefit of any education. In a few years' time, she was named a Lead Teacher and then Center Director for Anacortes. After retirement from Head Start, she worked full time as the front desk clerk for the Anacortes Inn until the age of 70. Lorene lived with her daughter Julie in Anacortes for the past 22 years where she held many vocal rehearsals around her piano in the living room and passed on her culinary talents in the kitchen, just as she had hosted weekend jam sessions and beachside barbecues on Orcas.

Lorene loved the beach, the smells of salt water, freshly mowed grass, and the taste of a properly made eggnog. She was a lover of cats, murder mysteries, crossword puzzles and would beat you nearly every time at cribbage or hand and foot. Her favorite color was royal blue, her favorite television program was M.A.S.H., and her two favorite tunes to play were Scotch & Soda and Thanks For The Memories .

At the time of her passing, Lorene was the oldest of her family.  She is survived by her four children: Ellen Maureen Parke, Michael Ross Moore and his wife Mary, Robert Beryl "Skip" Todd and his wife Mary, and Julienne Marie Lindsey. By grandchildren: Lorene Temple, Jeanne Porter and her husband B.J., Adam Moore, Jennifer Todd-Martin, Suzanna Bartlett and her husband Victor, Robert B. "Rob" Todd and his wife Jessica, and Jillian Johnson, Great grandchildren Courtney Teeple and her husband Joshua, Michael Lyon, Ashley Todd-Moody and her husband Neil, Danica Romanoff and her husband Thomas, Elizabeth Ludwig and her husband Joey, Robert B. "Robbie" Todd, Kenny Bartlett, Joey Bartlett, and Brooke Martin. Great-great grandchildren Nathanial, Kenneth, Damian, Peyton, Haileigh, Athena, Jessen, Evey and Lucia, as well as cousins from the Broulette, Sweeney, and Thornton families, and many friends.

To share memories of Lorene, please sign the online guestbook at https://www.evanschapel.com